Union lawyer Becker says he will be 'practical' on labor board
President Obama's most recent nominee to the National Labor Relations Board, Craig Becker, spoke about being 'practical' at a Senate hearing yesterday. Becker is an associate general counsel for the Service Employees International Union and the AFL-CIO, and as a union lawyer, his nomination to the labor board makes businesspeople nervous. In his hearing, Becker said that pro-union views of his are the positions of a scholar, and as a member of the Labor Board, he would recognize that his opinions and actions had practical consequences, and so would act in 'a more practical manner.' Several Republican senators have expressed hope that Becker would recuse himself from cases involving the SEIU if appointed, and Becker has agreed that he would do so for two years after his appointment. Becker was nominated to the board last year as well, but was blocked by Senator McCain, who says he may wish to do the same again this year.
See "Union lawyer Becker says he will be 'practical' on labor board", Holly Rosencrantz, Bloomberg News, February 2, 2010